2016 NHK Trophy Ladies FS

[invisiblespiral]

I finally found some videos. Thoughts below.

Choi: I want her dress and she still bores me

Rajicova: I really want to watch P/C's FD to this music.

Chen:

Chartrand: I like that her spins are really fast.

Tursynbaeva: I am not sure how much of my enjoyment of her program comes from liking the music and I find it mildly disturbing that we are the same age.

Nagasu: Her music annoyed me, so I started playing Fragile Dream against her program, and now I actually want her to skate to it.

Higuchi: Apart from the pop, that was nice.

Matsuda: Her jumps still scare me...

Pogorilaya: Surprise world medals do a lot for your confidence.

Miyahara:

Sotskova: Congratulations on GPF qualification.

 

[berry8]

Medvedeva - and high and strong jumps? You are joking... High and strong jumps - it's about someone like Tuktamysheva or Higuchi, but not about Medvedeva with her mediocre jumps with UR's and flutz

Medvedeva's 3F, 3L and 3S are spectacular.
Her 3Lz is not her money jump but it cannot be called a flutz in fact her edge going into is flat. Moreover you have to take into consideration the difficult entry, the difficult exit (spread eagle) and the arm variation.
2a is her weakest jump but even in this case you have to consider the difficult entry and the arm variation.

That being said, what makes Medvedeva the best female jumper on earth is her abilty to flawlessly jump any 3-3 combination (with 3T or 3L as second jump).

Tuktamysheva has strong jumps for sure but I wouldnt take her as a model... I mean she stalks are jumps more than Polina Edmund and she can only jump a 3T-3T combination... Without her 3a I consider her a low-avarage skater.

I agree with you that at the moment Higushi is one of the best: she delivers explosive jumps and she is quite consistent too. I am looking forward to seeing her 3a.
However she hasnt skated a clean program yet and her spins are not top-level.

 

[rain]

Let's talk Canadian ladies for a second. Wow, Alaine Chartrand is struggling this year. She is in trouble at nationals. Osmond has really staked her claim to being the top Canadian lady, and Gabby Daleman, is, I would think, now firmly No. 2. She's at least put out one spectacular SP internationally.

I think Chartrand's issues are mental. She gets scared and backs off, then underrotates/falls/has messy landings/double-foots on everything. She's a very frustrating skater in that way.

 

[amc987]

Or maybe Satoko has a smoother skating and better expression and more beautiful line than Elena? Don't get me wrong, i like Lena, but I just can't with her Sarah Brightman Nessun Dorma. Titanic was better (omg I can't believe I say this)

I'm not arguing that Radionova's programs are great or that they're significantly better than Satoko's. I'm just saying that whatever the difference between the two of them is, based on the technical performances they put out, it was at least 2 triples. That wasn't reflected in the scores that each skater received. And even given that Miyahara lands her jumps more smoothly, the scoring differential is too low. Also, Satoko's jumps are tiny. That fact should also knock her GOE down.

(And yeah, I know that the CoC panel was tougher overall and that it's hard to compare scores from event to event.)

 

[matmuh]

Can you imagine Satoko skating Anna's programs? she doesn't have Anna's body and sass to skate an awesome tango, or she isn't the kind of skater for dramatic performances.

after seeing Satoko's Hernandez's Hideaway EX, i think she would pull off a tango just fine :luv17: she probably wont shoot fire with her eyes lie Anna does but it would still be very sophisticated with amazing movements

 

[shyne]

Let's talk Canadian ladies for a second. Wow, Alaine Chartrand is struggling this year. She is in trouble at nationals. Osmond has really staked her claim to being the top Canadian lady, and Gabby Daleman, is, I would think, now firmly No. 2. She's at least put out one spectacular SP internationally.

I think Chartrand's issues are mental. She gets scared and backs off, then underrotates/falls/has messy landings/double-foots on everything. She's a very frustrating skater in that way.

She is very sweet on and off the ice. I wish her the best.
With the way the Canadian ladies are skating this year, it's very likely they will get 3 spots for the Olympics and Worlds next year.

 

[daphenaxa]

after seeing Satoko's Hernandez's Hideaway EX, i think she would pull off a tango just fine :luv17: she probably wont shoot fire with her eyes lie Anna does but it would still be very sophisticated with amazing movements

I agree she could do very well imo. She would have an understated sensuality that would be completely different than Anna's but it still would work. I am still mad that she doesn't do Hernandez's hideaway as her SP instead of her EX because this program really is amazing.

 

[Tolstoj]

Let's talk Canadian ladies for a second. Wow, Alaine Chartrand is struggling this year. She is in trouble at nationals. Osmond has really staked her claim to being the top Canadian lady, and Gabby Daleman, is, I would think, now firmly No. 2. She's at least put out one spectacular SP internationally.

I think Chartrand's issues are mental. She gets scared and backs off, then underrotates/falls/has messy landings/double-foots on everything. She's a very frustrating skater in that way.

No Rostelecom cup this season. It's her favourite event: two years ago she got the bronze medal, last year she was second after the short program and then bombed the free, considering what happened to Julia this season, she could have earned another bronze there.

 

[elif]

WOW I feel very sorry for Medvedeva. From posts here I thought she is Caroline Zhang. Underotations, edge calls, slow skating and all...

 

[berry8]

WOW I feel very sorry for Medvedeva. From posts here I thought she is Caroline Zhang. Underotations, edge calls, slow skating and all...

This thread is full of haterz

 

[rain]

She is very sweet on and off the ice. I wish her the best.
With the way the Canadian ladies are skating this year, it's very likely they will get 3 spots for the Olympics and Worlds next year.

This would be great since Canada actually has, for a change, three ladies who, when on, can be top 10. And yes, I know they're not often all "on", but it would be nice to see them all have a chance to at least go. The competition has been really good for Canadian ladies skating. Canada has never had so many high-level skaters at once before.

 

[Ilvskating]

Radionova is a performer but her posture just turns me off. It seems she has improved a bit. I need to check out her programs, I believe I watched only one this year.

 

[MaiKatze]

What happened to Chartrands Triple Axel? Is she still training the jump? I'm actually a bit sad that we don't see it anymore. Anyone who tries it, is to be admired.

 

[rain]

Radionova is a performer but her posture just turns me off. It seems she has improved a bit. I need to check out her programs, I believe I watched only one this year.

For me, due to Radionova's posture, which drives me batty, the Russian ladies stack up like this:

1-2. Medvedeva/Pogorilaya
big gap
3. Radionova/Sotskova

I personally prefer Pogorilaya, when she's on, to Medvedeva. Pogorilaya's bigger, powerful jumps appeal to me, and she's less muggy. Medvedeva is, of course, probably the most consistent skater across every discipline at the moment. Maybe it's just the underdog thing with Pogorilaya as well, lol.

I just wish that, across the board, the Russians in every discipline (pairs/dance/mens/ladies) would get better choreography. Their programs are, to me, totally forgettable or cheesy. On the whole, it all tends to look a little dated. I was always intensely frustrated with V/T that they never, ever skated a memorable choreography. They were such beautiful skaters, but just never produced that wow, timeless program (which is not at all the same as saying that they never skated well, because they most certainly did). And this when the Russians were, for years, the trendsetters in choreography, especially in pairs. M/T did some of my favourite programs of all time. Remember Yagudin? Today, mens is the worst, but ladies isn't far behind.

 

[mrrice]

What happened to Chartrands Triple Axel? Is she still training the jump? I'm actually a bit sad that we don't see it anymore. Anyone who tries it, is to be admired.

At this point, I think Alaine needs to land the jumps that are in her current program before she tries to up the ante. She just finished 11th in the Free at NHK and she has other things to focus on at the moment.

 

[Yatagarasu]

I just wish that, across the board, the Russians in every discipline (pairs/dance/mens/ladies) would get better choreography.

I agree with this but I think the reasons are numerous. One thing I do like this season is Pogo's SP. She's working with Misha and I think they together did a bang up job of it! I think Zhenya would be much better served with different programs. She's still young so I don't know how much of an input she can have as she's still forming as an artist and a person but I can't help but wish something different for next season yet I fear they'll keep her confined to this formula. Don't just stick with Averbukh, so many people out there that can even work with her if she truly prefers a more theater-like program! Liza is a mess, considering she keeps going back so by now, which choreographer will work with her, considering it? Even Sotskova's FS now is far from satisfactory, it's like they went with the most typical, standard they could just because it's her first senior year but forget that! That's playing it safe. She's young, make her enter with a bang! Wakaba as her opposite there, really stands out.

 

[lappo]

I just wish that, across the board, the Russians in every discipline (pairs/dance/mens/ladies) would get better choreography. Their programs are, to me, totally forgettable or cheesy. On the whole, it all tends to look a little dated. I was always intensely frustrated with V/T that they never, ever skated a memorable choreography. They were such beautiful skaters, but just never produced that wow, timeless program (which is not at all the same as saying that they never skated well, because they most certainly did). And this when the Russians were, for years, the trendsetters in choreography, especially in pairs. M/T did some of my favourite programs of all time. Remember Yagudin? Today, mens is the worst, but ladies isn't far behind.

Cannot agree more, I watch them once and generally I don't care much about watching twice.

 

[MaiKatze]

At this point, I think Alaine needs to land the jumps that are in her current program before she tries to up the ante. She just finished 11th in the Free at NHK and she has other things to focus on at the moment.

Of course. I didn't mean to say she should force this, if she's out of form. I just wonder if she still trains it or if it's completely off the table/ice. I had a feeling, that trying it really gave her a bit momentum last season, at least with the judges. It's a tad disappointing in general that no lady does it, while the men advanced so much in the last years.

 

[rain]

Of course. I didn't mean to say she should force this, if she's out of form. I just wonder if she still trains it or if it's completely off the table/ice. I had a feeling, that trying it really gave her a bit momentum last season, at least with the judges. It's a tad disappointing in general that no lady does it, while the men advanced so much in the last years.

The thinking was, I believe, that when she tried it and failed it would totally kill the rest of her program, so this season she's tried for more consistency. Unfortunately, it hasn't really worked.

 

[atsumiri]

I was always intensely frustrated with V/T that they never, ever skated a memorable choreography. They were such beautiful skaters, but just never produced that wow, timeless program (which is not at all the same as saying that they never skated well, because they most certainly did). And this when the Russians were, for years, the trendsetters in choreography, especially in pairs. M/T did some of my favourite programs of all time. Remember Yagudin? Today, mens is the worst, but ladies isn't far behind.

V/T - I remember almost every move of their Olympic SP. It's the best Pairs program EVER!
and S/K's last season LP! so powerful, fascinating and just WOOW.
but i can't say the same about Russians dance teams.